Spontaneous jamming and unjamming in a hopper with multiple exit orifices

TitleSpontaneous jamming and unjamming in a hopper with multiple exit orifices
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsKunte, A, Doshi, P, Orpe, AV
JournalPhysical Review E
Volume90
Issue2
Pagination020201
Date PublishedAUG
ISSN1539-3755
Abstract

We show that the flow of granular material inside a two-dimensional flat bottomed hopper is altered significantly by having more than one exit orifice. For hoppers with small orifice widths, intermittent flow through one orifice enables the resumption of flow through the adjacent jammed orifice, thus displaying a sequence of jamming and unjamming events. Using discrete element simulations, we show that the total amount of granular material (i.e., avalanche size) emanating from all the orifices combined can be enhanced by about an order of magnitude difference by simply adjusting the interorifice distance. The unjamming is driven primarily by fluctuations alone when the interorifice distance is large, but when the orifices are brought close enough, the fluctuations along with the mean flow cause the flow to unjam.

DOI10.1103/PhysRevE.90.020201
Type of Journal (Indian or Foreign)Foreign
Impact Factor (IF)2.02
Divison category: 
Chemical Engineering & Process Development